Price Eloise A B, Hamiduzzaman Mohammad, McLennan Vanette, Williams Christopher, Flood Victoria
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
University Centre for Rural Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Dec 17;21(12):1678. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21121678.
This retrospective, descriptive study, conducted in 2024, analysed Virtual Care Survey (2020-2022) data of patients' self-reported reflections on use and experiences to investigate relationships between demographics, the number of chronic conditions, and virtual care use among older rural patients (≥65 years with at least one chronic condition) living in New South Wales, and their satisfaction with virtual care. Associations between categorical variables were assessed using chi-squared tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for continuous variables. Qualitative feedback was analysed thematically. The study included 264 patients (median age 74 years; 51.1% women). Most virtual care appointments (65.3%) were for consultations, check-ups, or review of test results. Over one-third (38.3%) of the patients had multimorbidity and were 1.8 times more likely to have five or more virtual care appointments compared to the patients with one chronic condition. The oldest age group (≥80 years) preferred telephone over online mediums (Skype or Zoom) ( < 0.05). Patient satisfaction was high (65.8%), with 60.9% finding virtual care comparable to in-person consultations. Technological issues correlated with more negative experiences ( < 0.05). Key themes were enhanced accessibility and convenience, quality and safety of virtual care, and recommendations for equitable access. Despite positive responses, addressing technological complexities is important for optimising virtual care models for older rural Australians with chronic conditions.
这项回顾性描述性研究于2024年开展，分析了虚拟护理调查（2020 - 2022年）中患者自我报告的使用情况和体验数据，以调查新南威尔士州年龄较大的农村患者（≥65岁且至少患有一种慢性病）的人口统计学特征、慢性病数量与虚拟护理使用之间的关系，以及他们对虚拟护理的满意度。分类变量之间的关联采用卡方检验进行评估，连续变量则使用Kruskal - Wallis检验。定性反馈采用主题分析法进行分析。该研究纳入了264名患者（中位年龄74岁；女性占51.1%）。大多数虚拟护理预约（65.3%）是用于会诊、检查或查看检查结果。超过三分之一（38.3%）的患者患有多种疾病，与患有一种慢性病的患者相比，他们进行五次或更多次虚拟护理预约的可能性高1.8倍。年龄最大的年龄组（≥80岁）更喜欢通过电话而非在线媒介（Skype或Zoom）进行虚拟护理（P<0.05）。患者满意度较高（65.8%），60.9%的患者认为虚拟护理与面对面会诊相当。技术问题与更多负面体验相关（P<0.05）。关键主题包括虚拟护理的可及性和便利性增强、质量和安全性，以及公平获取的建议。尽管有积极反馈，但解决技术复杂性问题对于优化针对患有慢性病的澳大利亚农村老年患者的虚拟护理模式很重要。
